Hardcore epidemics
The North Americans from Outbreak arrive in South America on March 7th in Quito (Ecuador). This will kick off a tour that will hit Bogota/Colombia, Santiago/Chile, Buenos Aires/Argentina before they hit Brazil. Here, they trigger their hardcore epidemics on March 14th, 15th and 16th, in Piracicaba (SP), Belo Horizonte (MG) and São Paulo (SP), repectively. We talk to frontman Ryan, who also runs Think Fast! Records, before he and his crew get here. Check out!
By Ricardo Tibiu
Translation by Marina Melchers
What was the most absurd thing you´ve heard about a country before playing there?
You hear all sorts of crazy things about states and countries before you actually experience it for yourself. I've been told that Americans are being slaughtered left and right at the Mexican borders, and we're scheduled to play Tijuana in May. Hopefully we aren't going to be slaughtered, hah. I think that most of the time that things are blown out of proportion. We will usually play anywhere and make the judgment call for ourselves, rather than rely on what a few people are telling us. Sometimes absurd things are common though. Kevin from The Hope Conspiracy told me some pretty fucked up things about Russia, hopefully things we'll never have to experience. What do you know about Brazilian music? What Brazilian bands do you know?
To be perfectly honest, not a whole lot. Occasionally my record label get demos in the mail from Brazilian bands though. We're looking forward to seeing what Brazil has to offer!
How is the hardcore scene in USA, and American music in general?
You can't really generalize the entire country, because in some places it's great, and then the next closest city it sucks. It's hard to tell. Hardcore and punk rock have such a quick turn over rate...one year a city will be great to you, and then the next year no one gives a shit...not always, but I've seen it happen many times. I will say that there are a lot of bands, and a lot of shows, so it's easy to get lost in the shuffle. Not to sound like a jaded asshole, but it's more of a quantity than quality thing, which sucks. But I guess with the internet, Garageband, and MySpace, everyone is all of a sudden in a band hah. Some places in the U.S. that have been consistently good to us are Seattle, Boston, Long Island, Saint Louis, Atlanta, Southern California, and Detroit. How is the American music scene in general? It's pretty much a joke. I mean, there are some great mainstream bands like Foo Fighters, but then there is the obvious garbage that people eat right up. How people can seriously enjoy listening to bands like Buckcherry is beyond me.
How would you define the band´s sound for a person who has never heard it?
Fast, crazy, energetic, raw, stripped down, hardcore/punk. Something you probably wouldn't hear on the radio, hah.
What are the band's strongest influences?
I would say we're most influenced by a lot of the older bands...bands that got us into hardcore/punk. Negative Approach, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Descendents, etc.
What can we expect from Outbreak shows around here?
No bullshit, no filler, just raw, stripped down hardcore/punk. Hopefully people will have fun and release some built up energy, we know that we will.
How do you see the internet in relation to the music business, does it help, or get in the way? I ask that because here in Brazil this business is going through a serious crisis. Majors complain about piracy and free downloads, but recently the independent scene has also hit a considerable low in CD sales.
Like most things, it has its up and downs. I could really go on forever listing the pros and cons. On one hand, it makes obtaining the music much easier. Without downloading, smaller bands with no distribution would be hard to find, whereas the internet has made any band, from anywhere, at your fingertips. In that sense it's great. What band wouldn't want to have their music so accessible? On the other hand, you have the labels who are typically the ones pouring money into these releases...if no one buys the release properly, the label is not going to be able to support the band anymore, and often times, the band will break up, because they can't afford to record and market a record by themselves. So it's really a double edged sword. You can argue that you wouldn't buy the CD no matter what, so in a sense, you're getting turned on to bands that you wouldn't hear about otherwise (and in turn that's helping the bands, because if you are really into the music, you'll probably go see them live and maybe buy some merchandise)...what people don't take into account though, is that record labels rarely get a percentage of bands merch sales, and show pay, so if the label is bankrupt no longer in the equation, it would be much harder for the band to tour, especially smaller bands. Some labels have tried lowering prices, but it doesn't seem to help. If people can steal something and have a very low risk of getting caught, they will. Another argument that I hear all the time is that people only download to "sample" the release to see if they like it, and if they like it, they'll buy it...that's bullshit. First off, there is no way to regulate who will actually go out and buy it. Second off, 99% of bands and labels offer free samples, whether it's a free mp3, or full album stream. I can see where people think that record labels are getting rich and ripping everyone off with high CD prices, but the fact is, most independent labels are fighting to stay a float...most major labels too in fact. For major labels it is much easier, butfor independent labels where every dollar counts, it is very difficult.
If you were to be face to face with Osama Bin Laden, what would you say to him?
"I hope you get raped in prison." Anyone who casually takes lives does not deserve to live.
And George W. Bush?
Maybe I'm not politically educated enough, but I'm not going to jump on the "fuck bush" bandwagon just because it's the punk rock thing to do. Maybe he did fucked up things, and if so, I obviously don't support that, but I don't pay enough attention to politics to make an educated statement bashing George Bush. I can pinpoint particular instances, such as the delayed hurricane Katrina rescue, but I have no idea if one person is to blame for that...that South Park episode pretty much sums it up for me haha. We just want to blame someone, George Bush, FEMA, etc. Or maybe it was crab people? A few things that I do think are fucked up are our health care system, taxes, and fuel prices, but than I just think, well at least I'm not living in a third world country. You can call me ignorant, but at the end of the day, I'm just trying to pay my bills, not sticking my nose into political battles that I don't know anything about, or really care about.
If the members of Outbreak were Simpsons characters, who would you be?
Okay, this is the best question I've ever been asked. Seger and I are big Simpsons fans. When I was real little, I worshipped Bart Simpson. He was my hero. He skateboarded, he used "bad words", etc. I would compare myself to Bart haha.
And the last one, on the Brazilian flag there is the sentence "Ordem e Progresso" (which means "Order and Progress"), and it obviously isn't followed around here. If you could put a sentence on the American flag what would it say?
Oh man, this is another one of those questions where I feel like I should have some sort of strong, influential response. The fact is, I don't. There are all sorts of things that I hate about America, but when you take a look around, things could be a lot worse. There are far worse political leaders, and corrupt countries out there, so should I really complain? I don't vote, so do I have any right to complain? Will my vote even fucking matter? This is why I'm too optimistic to get involved with politics.
Related links:
www.outbreakhc.com
www.myspace.com/outbreak
www.hurryuphc.com/br
www.hurryuphc.com/outbreak
www.thinkfastrecords.com
www.myspace.com/thinkfastrecords